Silence, Secrecy and Seclusion: Uncovering Menstruation as a Forbidden Knowledge

Silence, Secrecy and Seclusion: Uncovering Menstruation as a Forbidden Knowledge

AYSHA FARHANA CHAKKAMPULLY

Within representations of menstruation, societal interventions are often discussed in the context of regulatory practices such as restrictions, taboos, and shame, often neglecting the impact of menstrual knowledge on the holistic menstrual experiences of a community. It is essential for understanding the lived experiences of menstruators as they navigate, comprehend, negotiate, and resist the daily manifestations of menstruation in society. The lecture focuses on the nuanced domain of menstrual knowledge (production, mediation, and transmission) by analyzing the specific menstrual socialization processes within the Islamic context in Hyderabad, India. The lecture is part of the ongoing doctoral dissertation, ‘Embodiment in Islam: the Everyday Menstrual Experiences of Hyderabadi Muslim Women in India.’ and the project ‘Changing social meanings of menstruation: the role of taboos, rituals, and agency in the experience of Indian women’ funded by the Grant Agency of Charles University.

Aysha Farhana Chakkampully is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Sociology, Charles University in Prague, and a PhD research associate at French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences (CEFRES), Prague. Her main research interests lie in Menstrual health and research, Sociology of body, Embodiment research.

Seminar will be held in English.

No registration is needed.